Jerry Schmitt was one of his patients and he said Rabinowitz was anything but typical.

“He was just somebody that I could go to and he was, he just never let me down,” Schmitt said.

The two met over three decades ago when Schmitt saw Dr. R, as some called him, for a hand injury. The doctor told Schmidt he was more concerned with his blood pressure -- and got him to think about changing his habits.

“He used to ask me if I was going to retire because of my age and I said I wasn’t sure and then I’d say, ‘What about you?’ And he would say, ‘No, I’m never going to retire.’ And in my mind I’m thinking ‘don’t you ever leave me,’ but he left me unfortunately.”